Remembering who we truly are is our grand opportunity to reconnect with our spiritual heritage. How often we find ourselves saying, “But I am only human.” In the scriptures, we are told that the things that we see are not made of things that appear. And that includes us, human beings. We are also advised that we are made in God’s image and likeness. Jesus often stated that, “My Father and I are one. When you see me, you see He that has made me.”
From the one sun that we cherish every day, rays emanate from it. These rays are simply direct reflections of its source. The reality is that the sun and its rays are eternally one. Whatever is true of the source is also true in the quality of its reflections. They are one and the same. In essence, the sun and its rays cannot be separated.
We, too, have a reflective relationship to that One Creative Source that we call God or Spirit. Our souls — that spiritual or immaterial aspect of ourselves — have the same relationship with our divine Creator.
Whenever we are experiencing those dark and dismal moments in life, our souls seem to cry out and know — without evidence — that there is something greater than what we are going through at those moments. Probably that is the reason why we writhe and scream, “God help me or God I need help!” At those moments, our souls are remembering our true identity. It may just be a flash of remembrance.
We can remind ourselves of who we truly are in various ways. We can ask ourselves: Does being human cause us to bring about success, having large sums of money to meet our needs and feel the joy of achieving that goal? Having family and friends with whom we enjoy harmonious relationships? Does being human mean that we have the ability to create ourselves and to maintain and sustain every component of our individual worlds (i.e., body, mind and events outside of ourselves)?
When we ask ourselves these kinds of questions, we begin to recognize that maybe there is something more to being human. For certainly we do not have the power to create ourselves and control what goes on outside of ourselves. So we might conclude that maybe there’s a part of us that is beyond our personal capacity to control. In truthfully responding to these kinds of questions of ourselves, we may minimally accept or recognize that there’s more to us than our being human.
From there we may discover that these questions can only emerge when we are by ourselves, sitting quietly and are willing not only to raise the questions but are also willing to listen to the answers. Ask: Is there something within me that I have not considered? Is my desire to ask these questions being human or is there something else within me causing this?
Gaze at a newborn baby, watch joyful children in the playground, notice the ebb and flow of a mighty ocean, gaze at bees swarming over the colorful flowers, feel the peace that touches my inner being (soul) when looking at a beautiful sunset. Is this being human or is there something within me that goes deeper than what I or others can attest to?
All of these are easy and informal examples of meditation. And as we grow in our understanding and formal practice of the same, we will discover that there is a greater being buried deep within ourselves. We will begin to remember who we truly are. Ultimately, as we continue to practice to “pay attention” to that soul stirring within us — that is ever present — not only will we remember but we will come to know our true identity as spiritual beings who are temporarily housed in our human forms.
